1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for the design and fabrication of structural column assemblies and, more particularly to the design and fabrication of structural column assemblies having improved mechanical properties and/or increased durability and/or improved resistance to multiple hazards (e.g., earthquakes, blasts, high temperatures, etc.).
2. Background Art
In general, conventional reinforced concrete (RC) columns include heavy steel rebar cages, which are either assembled at the construction site or prefabricated and shipped to the site and placed in the column form prior to casting the wet concrete. These rebar cages typically include a large number of longitudinal bars for flexural and compressive resistance, and either a continuous spiral or a number of hoops that serve as transverse reinforcement and provide shear resistance to the columns and confinement to the concrete core to enhance the post-yield load carrying capacity of a structural column. The use of conventional RC columns requires large amounts of material, labor, and time to complete construction. Concrete forms must be used during casting and removed after the concrete has cured, and in most cases, scaffolding is required at the construction site to complete fabrication of the reinforcement cages and placement of the concrete.
Some exemplary assemblies/systems in this general field are described and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,824,751; 6,189,286; 5,599,599; 5,218,810; and 7,682,993, and EP1,624,137 and WO95/23898, the entire contents of each being hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
In general, a constant need exists among manufacturers to develop structural column assemblies or the like that are cost-effective and/or include improved features/structures.
Thus, an interest exists for improved structural column assemblies and related fabrication methods. These and other inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement are addressed and/or overcome by the assemblies, systems and methods of the present disclosure.